It is known that household effects slides with multiple slide-members generally include a slide member attached to a drawer, a slide member attached to a frame or cabinet and an intermediate slide member fitted between the two other slide members.
The movement of the slide members has got to be coordinated to make sure the members of the slide of the drawer moves in a similar manner. Uncoordinated movement can lead to shortening of the lifetime of the drawer, along with problems such as uneven friction during operation and that a large force is required to close the drawer when the slide members are out of sync.
A popular method of coordination is to have synchronized drawer slides, which have a mechanism for synchronization which ensures that the drawer slide member and cabinet slide member moves in a synchronized fashion. Such a synchronization mechanism may include cogs, chains, string or other advanced solutions, and are popular due to the very consistent luxurious feeling they provide. However, the lifetime of such slides is limited, and the mechanisms are generally complex which results in a higher manufacturing cost.
Another method of coordination is found in sequential drawer slides. In a sequential slide, only one slide member is allowed to move relative to intermediate slide member. When the drawer slide moves with respect to the intermediate slide, the cabinet slide member is locked with respect to the intermediate slide member. To allow for least wear, the drawer slide is generally locked with respect to the intermediate slide member until the intermediate slide is fully extended with respect to the cabinet slide member. This allows for the best weight distribution with relation to the rollers in the mechanism, reducing dynamic stress loading on the cabinet slide member enhancing the life of the slide. A Mechanism for sequential drawer slides is described in EP0278960, which discloses a sequential drawer slide with a shifting control lever, the lever being mounted on a pin held on arms on the intermediate slide, for sequencing movement of the slide members.
However, sequential drawer slides have never been accepted as a high quality drawer slide mechanism due to a cheaper feel when compared to more complicated systems such as synchronized drawer slides.
The reason has been problems such as failure of the sequential sequence, requiring the user to push back the drawer to its original position, difference in friction between the first and second extension step in the sequence and a friction peak or a click that can be felt mid-sequence, when a spring clip or latch or other mechanism is falling or snapping out/into place.
Hence, an improved sequential drawer slide mechanism would be advantageous; in particular one that can replace high quality drawer slides with more complex and expensive mechanisms, such as synchronized slides, allowing for the longer lifetime of a sequential drawer slide as well as better cost-effectiveness, with even friction and lack of friction peak or click that can be felt mid-sequence.